Academic Integrity Policy

Ethical conduct is the obligation of every member of the Cincinnati State community. Violations of academic integrity constitute serious breaches of ethical behavior. Academic integrity requires that all academic work be wholly the product of an identified individual.

Violations of Academic Integrity

The following acts of academic misconduct are subject to disciplinary actions as described below. Additional student responsibilities are described in the Cincinnati State Student Code of Conduct, published elsewhere in this catalog.

Cheating: Cheating includes, but is not limited to:

• Use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations, or completing assignments.
• Dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or completing assignments.
• The acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic materials belonging to a member of the College faculty or staff.
• Copying computer files, text, or images of other students or downloading information from the internet and representing this work as one’s own.

Fabrication: The falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. “Invented” information may not be used in any laboratory experiment or other academic exercise without authorization from the instructor. For example, it is improper to analyze one sample in an experiment and covertly “invent” data based on that single experiment for several more required analyses.

Facilitating academic dishonesty: Knowingly or negligently allowing one’s own work to be used by other students or otherwise aiding in academic dishonesty.

Plagiarism: The representation of the words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. To avoid plagiarism, every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or by appropriate indentation and must be properly cited in the text or in a footnote. Acknowledgement is required when material from another source is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one’s own work. The correct form for documenting direct quotations and for acknowledging paraphrased material may be found in numerous writing manuals or handbooks. The English Department at Cincinnati State endorses the MLA style. However, some instructors may require other types of documentation. Students should refer to the instructor’s syllabus and other course materials for guidance on the proper documentation style.

Denying others access to information or material: Denying others access to scholarly resources or deliberately impeding the progress of another student. Examples of offenses of this type include giving other students false or misleading information, making library material unavailable to others by stealing or defacing books or journals, or by deliberately misplacing or destroying reserved materials, stealing another’s paper or project, or altering computer files that belong to another person.

Academic Integrity Violations Procedure

If an instructor has reason to believe a violation of academic integrity has occurred, the procedure will start in the classroom as outlined by the instructor’s syllabus. Penalties imposed by the instructor are limited to those actions whose ramifications fall within the confines of the class, i.e., failure of the assignment or failure of the course. Only the Academic Vice President (AVP) can impose suspension or dismissal from the College. The instructor has the option of filing a report of the incident with the AVP for documentation purposes.

The instructor may proceed with a formal charge of academic dishonesty and recommended sanctions to the AVP. The AVP may administer the disciplinary action recommended by the faculty member or a penalty deemed more appropriate. If the student accepts the charge, the AVP will assign sanctions, and the case will be closed. If the student challenges the finding of the AVP and maintains his/her innocence, the case will move forward to an Academic Integrity Panel. The student must submit the challenge to the AVP within five working days of the AVP’s notification of sanctions.

The Academic Integrity Panel consists of:

• Two students appointed by the Student Senate
• Two faculty members appointed by the Faculty Senate
• One dean appointed by the Academic Vice President

The case will be heard within 10 working days of receipt of the student’s written challenge.

The student accused of Academic Dishonesty may be accompanied at the Academic Integrity hearing by a person or persons of his/her choice, not to exceed three individuals. The role of the persons accompanying the student is limited to providing support to the student. Individuals accompanying the student may not present information or answer questions in place of the student.

• Both the Academic Integrity Panel and the student may call witnesses for the hearing.
• All hearings will be closed.

The decision of the Academic Integrity Panel regarding the Academic Dishonesty violation is reached by majority vote in a session of panel members only. The decision of the panel is communicated in writing to the AVP, along with recommended sanctions, within 10 working days of the final day of panel hearings. The findings of the Academic Integrity Panel and penalty administered by the AVP are final.

Penalties

Possible sanctions are described in the Cincinnati State Student Code of Conduct. They include:

• Warning
• Probation
• Loss of privileges
• Fines
• Restitution
• Discretionary sanctions
• College suspension
• College expulsion

In each case of academic dishonesty that is brought forward to the office of Academic Affairs, the AVP or the Academic Integrity Panel determines the disciplinary action to be taken. The AVP administers the disciplinary action.